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Shrimp Salad with oranges on a plate
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Healthy Shrimp Salad | Orange Sesame Dressing

Shrimp, red onions, sesame seeds, and crunchy romaine lettuce are topped with a vibrant and flavorful dressing for a delicious and healthy salad that's low in calories, but big on flavor!
Course Salad
Cuisine American, Healthy
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 2

Ingredients

  • ½ pound Shrimp large
  • 3 mandarin oranges or 1 medium orange (see dressing below for extra oranges) skins removed and sliced
  • 1 ½ heads romaine lettuce
  • ¼ red onion sliced
  • ¼ cup sliced almonds toasted

For the Dressing

  • ½ cup orange juice, fresh squeezed or store-bought (about 6 mandarin oranges or 2 large oranges)
  • ⅛-¼ tsp chipotle powder ¼ tsp. if you like it spicy
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • ¼ tsp stone ground mustard or regular mustard
  • 1 tsp sesame seeds plus ½ tsp. for sprinkling on salad and shrimp
  • salt to taste

Instructions

For the Dressing

  • Pour the ½ cup orange juice in a small saucepan over medium heat. Let the orange juice simmer for about 15 minutes to let it reduce by half. This will intensify the orange flavor and make the vinaigrette less watery.
  • When the orange juice has reduced, remove from the heat and place it in a bowl. Add the chipotle powder, mustard, and sesame seeds. Whisk to combine. Whisk in the olive oil and sesame oil until it's combined and season with salt to taste.

For the Salad

  • While the orange juice is reducing, chop the romaine lettuce, slice the red onions, and pat the shrimp dry with paper towels.  For the oranges, remove the skins and place the oranges on their sides and slice into circles.
  • In a small dry skillet over medium heat, toast the almonds for about 3-4 minutes or until they begin to smell toasted and have a little color on them.

For the Shrimp

  • Turn on the broiler and place the rack at the highest position.  Or you can heat a large skillet over medium high heat and cook the shrimp for 3-5 minutes.
  • Place the shrimp on a sheet pan and coat in 2 Tbsp. of the dressing. Sprinkle some sesame seeds on top and place under the broiler. Cook for 5-7 minutes (flipping over halfway through cooking) or until the shrimp are pink and the tails have curled. Check after about 4 minutes to make sure they don't overcook. Remove the shrimp and set aside.  See above instruction for cooking in a skillet instead.

Bring it all together

  • Toss the romaine and orange slices in enough vinaigrette to evenly coat the ingredients (no soggy salads!) and top with the almonds, shrimp, red onion and a little bit more of the sesame seeds.
  • Serve immediately.

Notes

Make this salad in advance

To meal prep this salad, cook the shrimp, let cool completely, then place in its own container in the fridge so it doesn't make the salad soggy.
Keep the salad ingredients in a separate container without adding the dressing.  Keep the dressing in a jar with a lid and drizzle it on right before serving so it won't get soggy.  
As long as your shrimp and salad ingredients are fresh, this salad should last 2-4 days in the fridge